Art of making glass articles.



No. `842,233. PATENTED JAN. 29, 190V.

J. A. MCLANBV. ART 0F MAKING GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.16,1906.

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JOSEIII A. MCLANE, OF GRAFTON, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN B. HART, OF HARRISON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, JOSEPH FUCOY, OF LEWIS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, 'AND CHARLES R. DURBIN AND GEORGE H. A. KUNST, OF TAYLOR COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA. l

Speciflcatonvot Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 29, 1907.

Application tiled Api-i116, 1906. Serial No. 311,980.

.'l'o all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn A. MGLANE, a citizenof the United States, residing at Grafton, in the county of Taylor and `State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Making Glass Articles; and I do declare the following to'be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable 1o others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine.

This. invention relates lto processes for making glass articles; and it has for its object to provide a process for expeditiously 1.5 and inexpensively removing mold-marks and other imperfections from such articles and imparting a polish thereto. It has been pro osed to accomplish this object in so far as t e interiors of bowls and similar `articles zo are concerned by subjecting their interior surfaces to the action of a ilame while the article is held inthe mold in which it has been formed, the mold containing the. article being at once moved. into position under a z 5 burner upon the withdrawal of the plunger therefrom and while the article is in a plastic state or condition. The main objection to this method of smoothing the interior of such .articles lies in the tact that the application of 3o a melting heat to an article of glass in a plastic condition is liable to cause the glass to sag downwardly and to unduly thicken at the bottom portion thereof, while it also has a tendency to gravitate toward the center or 3 5 deeper portieri of the bowl and form a ridge or ridges which greatly impair the commercial value of the finished product. It has also been proposed to remove i'nold-marks and defects from glass articles by applying a 4o polishing heat to one surface thereof while a ycooling iet or jets of air is 'projected against its opposite surface. ,ln carrying .out this method the article is to be placed upon a disk which is rotated under a burner while v the airiets play upon the exterior surface of the art lele; but no mechanical support is provided to maintain the shape of the article and' to prevent distortion thereof while under treatment, the theory being that the air 5o jets or blasts will suflice to counteract the effect of the heat and maintain the shapeof section.

ess seems apparent when it is considered that the unequal expansion and contraction of the glass due to the simultaneous application of heat to the inner side of thewallsof the article and cold air to the outer or op o site side of the wall necessarily causes equent breakage of the articles under treatment. 6o

I have discovered by actual experiments that the surface of the article may be cooled or chilled while in the mold so as to impart suflicient stability .to the glass to enable it to maintain its shape while under n he action of the polishing or smoothing llame and that this hardening of the glass does not in any manner militate against the perfect and expeditious removal of the 1nold-1narks or other defects or imperfections which occur 7o in the surface of the glass article. i

.l5 will now describe an apparatus or machine by which my process may be carried out; but I do not desire to be understood as restricting the same t0 the apparatus herein 75 described, as I may use any desired or preferred construction or arrangement of mechanical parts to accomplish my purpose withoutdeparting from the spirit er scope of my i nventlon. 8o

.ln the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus adapted to carry out my invention, the holder for the glass article being shown in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in vertical 85 Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a press.

Similar vletters refer to similar throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a 9o table suitably supported b legs B, on which is secured the burner-hoo C. The hood is preferably rectangular in shape, with a closed top and open at one side, and is lined with shcet-asbestos a, superposed on sheet metal l); but any other suitable liningmay be employed. The lower edge of the lining is bent inwardly, as at c, in order to assist in confining tho heat within the hood. "lhe burner proper, l), is formed with a round botroo tom l and cylindrical bodyportion e, and an internally-threadod collar f is secured in its mouth or open end, while the bottom is parts the article. The disadvantage of this procl formed with numerous perforationsg, ar-

rradial lines from a common center in order to direct the gases issuing therefrom in in- `dependent jets, the intensity of the heat of which is greatly increased by reason of the addition of air under pressure, as will be described. The burner is supported in position at the upper part of the hood by screwing onto the threaded exterior of the cylindrical mixing-chamber E, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The mixing-chamber E opens directly into the burner D and is supported in an opening in the top of the hood by means of a lateral flange i, cast or otherwise secured t0 the c lindrical chamber'. At the top of the chamber E a tubular extension i is formed, which is interiorly screw-threaded to receive the threaded end of a pipe F, through which air is admitted to the mixing-chamber under pressure from an air-reservoir or airump. (Not shown.) At one side of the tubu ar extension i a pipe j leads from any suitable source of gas-supply and discharges into the mixing-chamber, where it commingles with the air and is driven through the burneropenings in jets, as described above.

A holder G, adapted in general outlineto I the shape ofthe article being treated, is supported Within the hood on a shaft II, said shaft being stepped in a socket I, pivotally supported in the forked end of a treadle-lever J, fulcrumed on the frame of the table. The shaft H extends through bearin s in the framework and carries a bevele gear k, which meshes with a beveled pinion Z, secured 0n the end of a horizontal shaft m, suitably journaled from the frame and operated b a crank-handle n. The beveled gear c is s idingly secured to the shaft II by a key o there- 0n engaging a longitudinal groove p inthe shaft, so that the shaft may be raised and lowered without disturbing the position of the said gear k, the latter being supported bya tube L, which surrounds the shaft and rests on one of the cross-bars of the frame. A bushing M for'the shaft H screws into the table of the machine.

N represents a press having a plunger O and a mold P, all of which may be of the usual or any preferred form.

R represents a flexible tube or pipe, which is supported in any desired manner from the frame of the press and leads from a reservoir of compressed air,.(not shown,) whereby the operator may direct a current of air under pressure in and onto the article immediatel after the plunger is withdrawn from the molrf and thereby chill the surface of the article exposed to the air-blast.

In carryinr out my process the molten glass is place in the mold in the usual manner and the plunger brought down thereon to press the mass into the shape of the article being molded. The plun er is then raised to withdraw it from the mol and the end o f the tube or pipe R is directed so as to discharge a blast of compressed air into the article wzhile it yet remains in the mold. The article is then transferred from the mold to the holder and the latter raised so as to cause the article (if a bowl or other hollow article) to partly inclose'the lower part or bottom of the burner, but leaving a space suflicient for combustion therebetween. turned on and ignited by any suitable means and the shaft carrying the holder revolved so as to bring all the uncovered surface of the article under the action of the flames, which quickly superficially melts .the surfaceand eliminates all the mold-marks and other imperfections and defects therefrom. The article is then lowered away from the burner and the usual process of leeretempering and cooling is proceeded with to complete article for commercial purposes.

Among the advantages of this process is that the color of the glass is not reduced at any time during the process. In other words, the glass maintains the color as fixed while in the melting-pot` through all the steps of the process, this desirable result obtaining by reason of the fact that the surface of the article is merely superficially melted, because its exposure to the flame is of but short duration, and although the heat of the flame is intense it does not penetrate into the substance of the article.

Having thus described my invention, what The air and gas is thenv I claim. as new,l and desire to secure by Let- 1. The herein-described improvement in the art of making. glass articles which comprises shaping the molten glass to the desired form, chilling the plain surface thereof, and then revolving the article with its plain surface exposed to a melting-*flame to produce a smooth surface.

2. The herein-described process of polish# ing or smoothing the plain surfaces of pressed glass articles which comprises molding molt-en glassto the desired shape, chilling the plain surface thereof to cause it to retain its shape,

and then exposing its plain surface to the action of a melting heat.

3. The herein-described process of making v glassv articles which comprises molding the i molten glass tothe desired shape, then cooling the article, then covering the designer pattern on the article, and then subjecting Y its. exposed surface to the action of a heatingflame.

4. The herein-described process of making glass articles which comprises molding-the molten glass into the desired shape, then placing the 'same' in a holder, then causing the former or holder to approach a burne1', and thendirecting the heatin medium in jets into the interior of the artic e.

5. The herein-described process of making glass articles which comprises moldingthe IOO 'IOS

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molten glass into the desired shape, then supporting it by a former or holder, then causing the holder to approach a burner, then revolv- 'ingthe holder, and then directing the heating Amedium 1n }ets onto the article.

f 6. The herein-described process of making glass articles which comprises molding or pressing the molten glass into -thc desired shape, then ren-iovingthe same from the mold, and placing it in a holder, then causing the holder' to approach a burner, then directing the heating medium onto the article, and

then causing the former or holder to revolve.

7. The hercin-described process of making glassarticles which comprises the shapmg oi the niolten glass to the forni desired, then cooling the article, and then subjecting the surface of the cooled article to a reheating agent while the saine is being revolved. l

8. The herein-desembed process oi'niaking glass articles which comprises the shaping oi the molten glass to the desired form, thencooling the same, then applying heat to that surface of the article it is desired to reheat while the article is being revolved.

9. The herein-described process of making glass articles which comprises shaping' the' molten glass into the article desired and cooling the same, then subjecting the cooled article while held in a holder to the action of heated gases to melt out imperfections in the surface of the same.

10. The herein-described process of glazing or polishing glass articles which comprises supporting the article 1n a holder, then inserting the holder into a closed chamber` and subjecting the exposed surface of the article to the direct action of heated gases.

In. testiinon)r whereof I affix my signature l in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH A. MCLANE. `Witnesses:

' FRANCIS S. MAGUIRE,

G. ll. A. KUNST. 

